Australian shares flat as gold stocks offset gains in miners, banks

Australian shares were subdued on Monday as losses in gold miners and technology stocks were offset by gains in banks and miners that rose after iron ore prices firmed.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.13% at 7,052.20 by 0105 GMT, after having gained as much as 0.2%.

Weighing on the sentiment was a three-day snap lockdown announced on Friday in Western Australia's capital Perth after two people tested positive for COVID-19.

The top percentage gainers on the benchmark index were NIB Holdings, up more than 13%, followed by Perpetual that gained 5.5%. Top losers were JB Hi-Fi and Silver Lake Resources, down 3% each.

Among other gainers, heavyweight miners rose 0.5% to their highest since March 4 as iron ore prices traded near record highs on strong global steel demand.

Mining giants BHP Group and Rio Tinto rose about 1.4% and 1%, respectively.

Banks rose 0.8% to their highest since Feb. 26, with Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and AMP Ltd gaining about 0.5% each.

Westpac added a percent to mark its third straight session of rise, after saying it expects a A$288 million ($223.14 million) net gain on its investment in cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global, offseting a hit to first-half cash earnings of A$282 million from provisions.

Gold stocks were the biggest percentage losers on the benchmark as bullion declined on strong US economic data. The gold index slipped more than 2%.

De Grey Mining Ltd fell 7.5% and Evolution Mining Ltd lost 2.7%.

Technology stocks declined as much as 0.6%, reversing course from a gain of 0.4% early in the session. Xero Ltd and WiseTech Global slipped about 1% each.

In other markets, Japan's Nikkei dipped 0.14%, while S&P 500 E-minis futures slipped 0.13%.

Markets in New Zealand were closed for a holiday.